1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an allergen of Cladosporium herbarum, and specifically allergenic protein of Cladosporium herbarum.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
IgE-mediated atopic diseases induced by airborne protein allergens afflict 20% of the population who suffer from allergic symptoms such as conjunctivitis, rhinitis, and asthma. The airborne allergens originate from a variety of sources including pollens of grasses, weeds and trees, spores of mold, faeces of mites, and danders of pets and domestic animals. Molecular characterization of the allergens is essential to understand the mechanisms of the specific IgE antibody induction, and the pathogenesis of the diseases, and the development of more efficacious and specific diagnostic and therapeutic methods.
Progress in characterization of the allergens has been slow until the recent employment of gene cloning and expression techniques in allergen research. A number of allergens have been cloned and sequenced from pollens of grasses (Silvanovich A, Astwood J, Zhang L, et al. J. Bio. Chem. 266:1204, 1991); trees (Breiteneder H, Pettenburger K, Bito A, et al. EMBO J. 8:1935, 1989); weeds (Rafnar T, Griffith IJ, Kuo MC, et al. J Bio Chem. 266:1229, 1991); dust mites (Chua KY, Greene WK, Kehal P, Thomus W. Clin. Exp. Allergy. 21:161, 1991); insects (Fang, K. S. Y., Vitale, M., Felner, P., King, T. P. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 85:895, 1988) and animals (Griffith IJ, Craig S, Pollock J, et al. Gene. 113:263, 1992). The availability of the amino acid sequences of the allergens has facilitated (i) the determination of their biological functions, (ii) the analysis of their T- and B-cell epitope, and (iii) an increase in knowledge of the pathogenesis of the diseases. Moreover, such cloned genes can be used to provide unlimited quantities of purified allergenic molecules.